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Microwear polishes on early stone tools from Koobi Fora, Kenya

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Abstract

The functions of the stone artefacts made and used by early hominids has been a matter for speculation. However, recent experimental work has demonstrated that microscopically distinct wear-polishes form on tools of cryptocrystalline silica when used on different materials, and that these microwear polishes survive on ancient implements1–3. We have now examined 54 artefacts from five early Pleistocene archaeological sites, dated to 1.5 Myr ago, in the Koobi Fora region of Kenya for microwear polishes and other traces of use. Wear traces were found on nine artefacts, variously resembling traces induced experimentally by cutting soft animal tissue and soft plant material and by scraping and sawing wood. These results greatly extend the time range for which microwear polish analysis is applicable and increase the evidence of early hominid adaptation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anthropology, University of Illinois at Chicago Circle, Chicago, Illinois, 60680, USA

    Lawrence H. Keeley

  2. Department of Anthropology, University of California, Berkeley, California, 94720, USA

    Nicholas Toth

Authors
  1. Lawrence H. Keeley
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  2. Nicholas Toth
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Keeley, L., Toth, N. Microwear polishes on early stone tools from Koobi Fora, Kenya. Nature 293, 464–465 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1038/293464a0

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